


The Campaign Around the Corner

by Orlaith



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M, Not Canon Compliant, Pre-Canon, You've Got Mail AU, pre-administration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:54:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28399569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orlaith/pseuds/Orlaith
Summary: Donna Moss is working for Howard Stackhouse's presidential campaign in 1998. Josh Lyman is working for Jed Bartlet's presidential campaign in 1998. The two cannot stand each other.Little do they know the person each of them is beginning to fall in love with over email is the other.((The "You've Got Mail" crossover no one asked for))
Relationships: Josh Lyman & Donna Moss, Josh Lyman/Donna Moss
Comments: 7
Kudos: 58





	The Campaign Around the Corner

**Author's Note:**

> This is in no way canon compliant, but you can figure out pretty much everything for yourselves :)

**23 January 1998 - Nashua, NH**

Donna lugged her bags into the hotel room before collapsing on the bed, face down. She glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand: 12:42. It had been an exceedingly long day, what with dumping her crummy boyfriend and driving nearly eighteen hours to Howard Stackhouse’s campaign headquarters in Nashua. Putting law school on hold until he had finished residency was one thing, but asking her to “drop the law school act” entirely was the last straw. Donna had packed her bags while Dr. Freeride watched, and she had gleefully driven the car they shared (but was registered under her name) all the way to New Hampshire.

After the day she’d had, she wanted nothing more than to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep, but something made her pull out her laptop from her bag. Plugging it into the phone jack under the desk, Donna anxiously chewed on her nails. Her email booted up, and she felt her breath catch in her throat as she saw Crimsons85 had sent her a new message. She opened the message, and her heart rate sped up as she scanned the lines.

_Dear FarmGirl,_

_Sometimes I like to imagine that I know you. That we are dear, old friends, and that me sending you these emails is the same as me showing up on your doorstep in the evenings because I’ve had a long, hard day at work and I need someone to talk to. I decompress and unload all my worries and troubles on you, and I feel a little lighter._

_And then, the next day, I come to my computer, and there it is: a message from FarmGirl._

_I’ve never met you, and odds are I never will, but I find a peculiar comfort in the words you send me, like they are wrapping me up in themselves and telling me everything will be alright. I hear your voice in my head. Of course, I don’t know what your voice really sounds like, but I can only imagine it’s perfect and entirely you._

_I made a big move today, something I didn’t expect of myself, but I supposed these are the things you do for old friends. Perhaps I’ll make some extravagant gesture for you some day, since after all, we are old friends._

_In regards to your last email, I wish you all the best. New jobs are never easy, particularly if, like you say, you haven’t worked in this field yet, but if I know you like I think I do, I have no doubt you will flourish and thrive._

_Hoping the weather is as warm where you are as it is for me,_

_Your friend_

Donna couldn’t stop herself from reaching out and lightly tracing “your friend” with her finger. She smiled to herself in the dark hotel room before closing her laptop and falling, fully clothed, in bed. Burrowing herself under the blankets and making sure her alarm was set, Donna rolled onto her side, drifting off into a quiet, restful sleep.

**16 February 1998 - Charleston, SC**

Josh sat on his laptop in the middle of the South Carolina field office. He and Sam were here doing prep work while everyone else staffed the governor. As he scanned through the schedules Toby and C.J. had sent, a notification popped up in the top corner of his screen: a message from FarmGirl. Fighting to keep the smile off his face, Josh finished approving the schedules and forwarding them on to the advance team.

Trying to look as casual as possible, Josh glanced around the room to see if anyone was standing near enough to see over his shoulder. Sufficiently satisfied that was not the case, Josh opened the message.

_Dear Crimson85,_

_I, of course, know you are involved in politics (or at least follow them closely) considering how we met, so I’m sure you’re aware of how hectic things are getting. I helped with campaigns two years ago, but congressional races and the odd senate race are nothing compared to the absolute chaos of presidential campaigns. I supposed I had always assumed there would be a little more romance and glamor to them, but I shouldn’t really be surprised that isn’t the case._

Josh bit his lip, trying to hold back a chuckle as he looked around him. People were wearing clothes that easily hadn’t been washed in months, many of them with hair to match, and the occasional piece of day-old, cold pizza hanging from their mouths.

No, there was certainly nothing romantic about it.

_I know we agreed no personal details, but I feel comfortable sharing that I’m working on a presidential campaign, considering the vast number of them this year. I quite enjoy the man I’m working for, and I feel comfortable sharing that ever telling pronoun as well since there is not a single serious female candidate this cycle. In 1998?! The horror._

Josh could almost picture this girl sitting next to him, saying these things and stealing the food off his plate. He smiled at the idea as he shoved some stale fries into his mouth.

_Before hitting the campaign trail, I made the decision to lose a little weight, and I can now say I am about 250 pounds light, having left my dead-beat boyfriend back home._

Josh tried to ignore the way his pulse sped up as he read that.

_He asked me to give up the idea of ever going to law school and getting a refund on my tuition hold to help him pay the bills. I said, “No dice,” and packed up everything that I could claim as my own and hit the road._

_Oh, dear friend, I feel so free now. I never realized what it would be like to finally leave, and now that I have, I can’t imagine ever going back. This is what I am supposed to be doing; I know it with all my heart._

_I know it too_ , Josh thought to himself, though he had never met her, and likely never would.

_I hope you’re enjoying the campaigns heating up as much as I am. Perhaps we’ll run into each other at some event._

_Until next time,_

_Your friend_

Josh tried to fight the smile working its way across his face, but he eventually gave in as he reread each line of her email, committing it to memory.

“You’re not looking at porn are you? Because if you’re looking at porn and not sharing—”

Slamming his laptop closed, Josh looked up into the inquisitive, blue eyes of his close friend, Sam Seaborn.

“It’s not porn,” he rushed out.

Sam quirked an eyebrow at him. “Okay… Your response does not have me overly convinced.”

Josh flushed, his face rapidly heating up. “It’s not porn,” he repeated, in a much calmer and more level tone. “It’s— so I was on this message board—” Josh sighed, having no idea how to explain this without admitting he was essentially writing love letters to a woman he knew little to nothing about. Sam’s patient, puppy dog expression did little to help, and eventually Josh found himself spilling everything from the way this girl had defended Josh on a political message board, to exchanging emails, to the long, late at night responses and ruminations on all manner of deep topics and trying his level best to gloss over his hopeless infatuation.

As he finished his tale, Sam’s smirk merely grew, and Josh groaned as he braced himself for the teasing.

“Joshy has a wittle crush, doesn’t he?” Josh snatched the thing closest to him, which happened to be a pretty hefty paperweight and chucked it at Sam, who annoyingly dodged it. “You do!”

“Sam, please do not make a big deal out of this.”

“But it’s such a big deal! When was the last time you talked to a girl for longer than a month?” Josh grimaced, but didn’t respond. “Granted it helps that you’ve never actually had to meet this girl in person. That must make it a lot harder to scare her off.”

Josh grabbed a pen this time and threw it at Sam. This also was batted away with ease. Frustrated with his inability to maim Sam, Josh stood up and began rifling through the filing cabinet behind his desk, trying to look busy so his friend might leave.

“Sam, honestly, it’s nothing. It’s not like I’m ever going to meet her, and it’s mostly just a silly little thing, something to pass the time, and let’s not make a federal case about it, alright?”

“Why not?”

“Because, it’s not that big of a deal, and there’s really no need to fixate on it and—”

“No, I meant why not meet her?”

Josh’s stomach did a flip, and he took a moment before he turned to look at Sam again.

“What?”

“I said, ‘why not meet her’. You said she’s working for a presidential campaign, right? Odds are you’ll be in the same city at some point. If nothing else, she’ll probably find her way to the convention one way or another. Ask her to meet.” Sam swiped some of the fries off of Josh’s plate before heading over to where he was working on the governor’s next speech.

As he meandered back to his desk and cautiously opened his laptop again, Josh weighed the possibilities. He calculated each possible scenario, and rarely did they end anything but poorly. Josh groaned and dropped his head into his hands. Nope. That was another day’s problem. For now he would stick to polite conversation and mild flirtation.

**11 April 1998 - Los Angeles, CA**

Donna fiddled with the neckline of her dress, resisting the urge to pull it up as much as possible. Donna was anything but a prude, but she hadn’t worn anything this revealing in quite a long time if ever. She knew she looked good; the stares from all the men as she walked into the DNC fundraiser told her as much, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t uncomfortable with the attention.

Glancing to see if anyone was looking, she caved and pulled at her neckline, but her hand was quickly slapped away by Amy Gardner.

“Donna, darling, you look fantastic. You know what makes a girl not look so fantastic?” Donna said nothing. “False modesty.”

“It’s not false,” Donna argued, grabbing two glasses of white wine from a passing tray and handing one to Amy. “I’m not used to wearing things like this.”

“Well get used to it.” Amy threw back almost all of the wine. “Shindigs like this are our one excuse to dress up and flirt with cute politicos.” Donna made a face, and Amy just laughed. “If not to get a date, at least to get their money, right?”

“Uh huh, whatever you say, Amy.”

In her nearly four weeks of working for the Stackhouse campaign, Donna and Amy had become close. As the only women in senior staff positions, they always ended up sharing hotel rooms, and the friendship had blossomed over hotel mini-fridge shooters and 2am sitcoms. Sometimes Amy’s bluntness caught Donna off guard, but she figured that was just her “Midwestern nice” rearing its head. Despite her lack of tact, Amy was sharp and brilliant, and Donna felt as if she had learned more in these four weeks working with Amy than she ever did in her undergrad.

Donna realized she had spaced off when she saw Amy looking at her as if waiting for a response.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

“I said, pick up your drink. There’s some friends I want to introduce you to. They work for Bartlet, so odds are one of us is going to be working for the other eventually.”

Donna tried to get excited about the new connections, but these political fundraisers were really much of the same. Once you’d been to one, you’d been to them all.

“Donnatella Moss, this is C.J. Cregg. We worked together with Emily’s List for a few years. She’s incredibly smart and smart enough to know that she’ll be coming over to our campaign sooner or later.” The tall, impeccably dressed woman extended a hand and shook Donna’s like she was royalty, and honestly Donna wouldn’t have been surprised. Before C.J. had a chance to respond to Amy’s jab, a voice spoke from behind Donna.

“I wouldn’t be so certain of that, Amelia.” Donna and Amy both spun around to find a smirking man with truthfully the most unruly curly hair Donna had ever seen. The man merely took a small sip of his drink and continued. “Bartlet’s gaining in the polls. Besides, how are you going to tell Abbey that you’re trying to beat her husband out.”

Amy said nothing for a moment, merely returning this man’s smirk.

“Joshua Lyman, as I live and breathe.”

“How’ve ya been, Amy? I saw you stirred up some trouble in New Hampshire.”

Amy waved her hand dismissively. “It’s not as if we were going to beat your guy anyway. Figured we might as well make some memorable speeches, gain traction in the states we’d be heading to next.”

“Not a bad idea.”

“Shoulda brought my calendar so I could mark the occasion of J saying I had a good idea.”

Josh grinned, dimples popping out on his cheeks. “Never actually said it was good.”

“Donna, darling,” Amy said, grabbing her friend by the elbow and pulling Donna to her side, “this is Josh Lyman, an irritating know-it-all and verifiable pain in my ass. I dated his college roommate and he was always too much of a square to try to make a move even though I could tell he wanted to.” Donna watched with some satisfaction as Josh’s jaw dropped and C.J. tried to hide her grin in her wine. “With that, I’m going to find some scotch.”

Donna panicked as Amy walked away, not wanting to seem rude but also terrified of being left alone with people she didn’t know. “It was nice to meet you both, but I should really—”

“Donna, what got you involved in the campaigns?” C.J. smacked Josh on the back of his head, regaining his attention from where his gaze had followed Amy to the bar.

“Well, I studied political science and American history in college.” Donna turned her glass in her hands, desperate to leave and find Amy. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it, but I graduated at a pretty convenient time considering how many jobs are open right now.”

“You’re only twenty-two?” C.J. asked incredulously.

“Twenty-four actually. I… worked for a few years out of high school.”

“So you double majored in political science and American history? That sounds like—”

“Yes, I graduated with two majors, but they were political science and drama.”

“ _Drama_?” Contempt was dripping from Josh’s voice as he asked this, and an instant dislike settled deep in Donna’s stomach.

“Yes.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Josh chuckled, looking at C.J. obviously hoping for support which she did not give. “Why drama? Shakespeare gonna help you on the campaign trail?”

“Maybe.” Donna schooled her face into a neutral look, but let her displeasure seep into her voice. Or maybe the voice classes I took taught me how to speak in front of people and sound like I know what I’m talking about. Maybe my movement classes taught me how to carry myself. Maybe my playwriting class taught me more about conciseness and brevity and making my point than any of my political science courses. And maybe, just maybe, my theatre history classes taught me all about the connection between governments across time and the world and how they affect the arts and society of their countries and vice versa.” She paused for a moment, sipping at her wine and glancing around the room, while Josh remained speechless in front of her. She pulled her gaze back to the insufferable man, staring him down. “Now exactly which of those do you think _doesn’t_ help me do better at my job?”

At that, C.J. laughed outright, patting Josh on the back.

“Your luck seems to have left you high and dry tonight, mi amor. Have fun with this one.” C.J. then drifted off into the sea of people, but Donna, with her newly found confidence, remained, staring down Josh Lyman. If this conversation was going to end, he was going to be the one to leave it.

“I suppose,” Josh said, clearing his throat, “that all of those things make sense. But you have to admit it’s still not the most typical combination of majors.”

“I never said that it was. But it’s certainly not ridiculous.” If Donna was expecting Josh to apologize for what he had said, she was hopelessly deluded. “What did you major in then?”

“Political science and American history, and then I went to law school.” Donna could swear she could see Josh’s chest puff up as he said that.

“Ah, see, that’s where we diverge, Mr. Lyman. You went to school to learn the theory of politics. I went to school to _practice_ politics.” Josh sputtered at her, but she pressed on. “And I think the man you’re working for would likely agree with me.” Before he could formulate a response, Donna downed the rest of her wine, smirked at Josh, and said, “Truly, a pleasure to meet you,” after which she flounced away to find Amy.

If she had chosen to turn around in that moment, she would’ve seen a gob-smacked, slack-jawed, and entirely love-struck Josh Lyman.

**29 April 1998 - Santa Fe, NM**

Over the next couple of weeks, Josh Lyman tried, without much success, to get Donnatella Moss out of his head. But everytime he thought he had forgotten about the quick-witted and assertive woman, there she was on the morning shows, spinning for Stackhouse. The debate in April had been a big win for Governor Bartlet, but you never would have guessed that with the way Tippi Hedron was out there railing against the governor’s free trade policy.

This particular morning, Josh was sitting in the kitchenette of the campaign’s Ohio office, remote clenched between both hands as he watched Donna on the screen.

“Are you saying Governor Bartlet’s healthcare plan won’t help Americans?” the interviewer asked.

“I never said that, Janet. The governor’s plan _will_ help some Americans— it will help the pharmaceutical companies, insurance lobbyists, and all of the GOP congressmen who buy into pharmaceutical companies and insurance lobbyists. If the governor wanted to make a plan that would help the average American, he would release a plan that doesn’t read like a love letter to the people taking advantage of people like you and me when we’re at our most vulnerable.”

“He did write a plan like that,” Josh muttered to himself as he muted the TV. “Toby and I just made him bury it.”

“We can bring it back again when we get to office.” Toby walked through the door and to the counter to pour himself a cup of coffee.

“That requires actually getting the nomination.”

Toby’s eyes flicked up to the screen where the banner read “Donnatella Moss, Stackhouse spokesperson” before raising an eyebrow at Josh. “You’re not actually worried about Stackhouse are you? He’s barely polling within double digits.”

“Yes, but he’s gaining,” Josh said as he shuffled through the tracking numbers sitting next to him on the table. “And he has been since the last debate.”

“Stackhouse is a non-issue, Josh. He’s not a serious challenger. He only looks serious because he’s got Amy and Donna propping him up. Howard Stackhouse is as liberal as they come, and the Democrats are not going to nominate a verifiable socialist, no matter how much I wish they would,” Toby muttered that last bit to himself.

“Stackhouse was never this liberal in the senate,” Josh practically whined as he paced around the table. Toby plopped into Josh’s now vacated seat, plucking a donut from the box in the middle of the table and tracking Josh’s movements around the room. “I mean, he was a Democrat, sure, and certainly further left than a lot of the Democratic senators, but you’re right. Donna and Amy have him positioned so far left he should move to Europe. He practically made Hoynes look like a facist.”

Toby nodded and mumbled around the donut in his mouth. “Am I crazy, or didn’t he vote against President Newman’s healthcare reform bill in ‘91?”

Josh stared at Toby, mouth agape, before grinning from ear to ear.

“This,” he said. “This is why I love you, this right here.” He threw the remote on the table and stuffed an entire donut in his mouth before running from the room. “Thanks, Toby.” Josh rounded a corner, almost knocking over Sam, who was deep in thought, reading over the governor’s remarks for the event tomorrow night. “Sorry, man. You seen C.J. recently?”

Sam gestured vaguely toward the bullpen. “Talking to Danny.”

Josh clapped him on the shoulder, still grinning wildly. “Thanks,” Josh saw the top of C.J.’s head near the door of the storefront. “C.J.,” he yelled across the room, ignoring the dirty looks many of the staffers threw his way. “C.J.!”

The press secretary rolled her eyes as she turned towards Josh, but Danny looked thoroughly amused. “Joshua, darling, do you mind using your inside voice?”

“Yes, I mind. I need you to do something for me.” Josh tried to keep himself from looking at Danny as he spoke to her. “I’m going on the morning shows tomorrow talking about our healthcare plan. Two things: I need you to get the full text of President Newman’s healthcare bill from ‘91, and I need the Senate’s voting record of it.” Out of the corner of his eye, Josh saw Danny perk up, and he knew the journalist was going to find the story before the end of the day.

“You’ve got a weird vibe about you today, Joshua.”

“Just in a good mood, I guess.” He spun on his heel, practically flouncing back to his office. He _was_ in a good mood. He hadn’t felt this good since the campaign started, and when he opened his laptop to find an email from Farm Girl, his day got even better.

As Josh scanned the lines of her letter, he got to thinking about what Sam had said before. Maybe he should try to meet this girl.

Picking at his nails, Josh turned over in his head all the different ways he could bring it up. Eventually, after much deliberation, he merely typed out, _Do you think we should meet?_ and sent the email before he could think twice. Pulse elevated and now desperately in need of a distraction, Josh went out in search of Sam and Toby to figure out just when was an appropriate amount of time before calling Stackhouse and asking for his endorsement.

**6 June 1998 - Harrisburg, PA**

Donna was exhausted. She had been exhausted for the last few months. The campaign schedule was grueling to say the least, and it hadn’t gotten any easier since Josh Lyman and the Bartlet campaign had started their attacks against the Senator’s voting record. But tonight, Donna was exhausted and downright pissed.

Earlier that evening, the Senator had assembled his senior staff and given them the bad news: he was going to withdraw and endorse Governor Bartlet. Amy and Donna had tried to talk him down but not as wholeheartedly as they may have a week ago. Their numbers had plateaued and then started to dip while Bartlet’s only continued to increase. After dismissing everyone else, Stackhouse told Amy and Donna that he had worked it out with the Governor that he would do some campaign events for him and nominate him at the convention. Amy immediately began spinning this into a potential VP or cabinet spot, but Donna’s thoughts were drifting.

She had come to work on a presidential campaign, and she hoped she could ride it all the way to a White House job. That was starting to seem less and less likely.

“I understand if either of you wants to leave to work elsewhere, but I would like it if both of you stayed to help with the campaign events,” the Senator had said. Amy nodded vehemently, already planning what to do next. Donna said nothing, merely followed Amy out of the room, gathering her belongings from her desk. She was already fairly certain she wouldn’t be coming back to this office.

Now, she rested her head against the wall of the hotel elevator and let her eyes drift closed before she heard, “Hey, hold the elevator!” She quickly jerked to press the door open button and held it until her fellow passenger was safely on. As the frazzled man turned to face her, all of Donna’s repressed anger bubbled up inside of her. This must have been evident in the way she was looking at him because she watched the color drain from Josh Lyman’s face.

The elevator was deathly silent except for the ding as it passed each floor. Two. Three. Four. Josh cleared his throat and awkwardly shifted from one foot to the other, studiously avoiding Donna’s eyes. Five. Six. The elevator doors slid open, and anyone standing in the hall would have thought there was a fire in there from the speed at which Josh exited. Donna followed quickly after, ready to ambush him at his door.

A smirk stretched across her face when Josh stopped at the room directly across the hall from hers. She casually leaned against her door watching as Josh frantically tried to open his door, the card failing every time.

“So, I suppose you’re having a pretty good day.” Josh started a little, but said nothing. “I hope Bartlet is giving you all the credit you’re due.” The man grumbled, but Donna couldn’t discern any words. “What?” Donna knew her voice was sharp, but she didn’t care. She had given up everything to come work on this campaign, and now it was all gone, just like that, down the drain, and she would be damned if she didn’t get to yell at Joshua fucking Lyman.

“I _said_ ,” Josh bit out, finally giving up on the key card and turning to face Donna, “I don’t know what else you expected.” Donna’s jaw practically dropped at the audacity of this man. “It’s not like Howard Stackhouse was ever going to become president.”

A dry laugh was pulled from Donna’s throat. “Oh, my god, are you _kidding me_?! You can’t just—”

“No, Donnatella Moss, I am not kidding you, and you know I’m right too. I know this is a big deal to you because you’re new to this, and you want to prove yourself but newsflash: you should’ve picked someone more competent to prove yourself on. Howard Stackhouse was never going to take you where you needed to go.”

“And what? I guess you can?”

Josh smirked at her in that infuriating way he did.

“Only if you want me to.”

Donna stared at him for a long moment, resisting the urge to hit him, but instead she turned on her heel, opened her door on the first try, and slammed it behind her. She leaned back against the closed door and sighed heavily, but a smirk made its way across her face as she heard the repeated sound of Josh’s card not being read. Donna’s tired feet carried her across the hotel room to her desk and her open laptop. Booting up her email, Donna sorted through her old messages coming across one sent by Abbey Bartlet nearly a month ago after they had met at a women’s health fundraiser.

Donna chewed on her thumbnail as she read over the email again, considering her response. For all she knew, the woman had already found someone to manage her schedule and campaign events. Then again, Donna countered, once Jed Bartlet got the nomination, Dr. Bartlet would have even more campaign events and commitments. Her mind made up, Donna typed out an email to Abbey and sent it off before she could second guess herself.

Feeling more resolved than she had since joining the Stackhouse campaign, Donna grinned to herself as she scanned through the rest of her emails. Her smile grew even wider as she saw the email from Crimson85. His jokes made her laugh so loudly she slapped a hand to her mouth, worried she may have woken up her neighbors. She bit her lip as she read the rest of his letter, trying to stop the grin his messages always brought her. As she came to the end of his missive, however, her stomach flipped at the final sentence.

_Do you think we should meet?_

**July 24 - Chicago, IL - Democratic National Convention**

“Say that again,” Josh yelled over the roar of the crowd around him. C.J.’s voice was barely discernible through the phone pressed so tightly against his ear that it was starting to go numb.

“I _said_ I need you to meet me in the governor’s suite. We’re bringing in Hoynes to ask him to be VP.” Josh ran a hand over his face and resisted the urge to bitch about John Hoynes. He knew in the long run, it was the best decision, but he didn’t have to be happy about it. “The governor and Leo want you there to smooth him over.” Josh rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, okay.” Josh started making his way to the exit, bumping into nearly everyone he passed it was packed so tight. “I’m at the convention center, so it’ll be a few, but I’ll do what I can.”

“Bless you, Josh Lyman.”

Josh grinned despite himself. “What ever would you do without me?”

C.J. simply chuckled and hung up. Josh stuffed his phone in his pocket, finally making his way out of the lobby and onto the street. He had little trouble flagging down a cab since they were lining up in front of the convention center to cart off delegates who had a little too much fun. The ride itself, on the other hand, took much too long as the streets became packed at rush hour.

Josh checked his watch. Reasonably, he knew he had plenty of time before he was supposed to meet this girl at the cafe. However, the unreasonable side of Josh was panicking, worried he might miss their meeting and forever lose this girl he genuinely thought could be his soulmate. He imagined what she might look like as he walked into that cafe. She would be sitting at a table, book near the edge. Her hair would catch the light in just the right way, and Josh would know instantly that this was her. Her pink lips would pull up into a small smile as she laid eyes on him for the first time. Her eyes would shine, the blue in them matching the—

“Hey, buddy, we’re here.”

Josh was pulled out of his daydream by the cabbie asking for his money. Throwing him a wad of cash, Josh bolted towards the lobby of the hotel the campaign was staying at during the convention. The governor was staying in one of the top floor suites, and Josh tried not to get impatient when he got on the elevator and everyone who came on after him pushed a different floor beneath where he was going. As his head fell back against the wall of the elevator, Josh tried to distract himself by thinking about the campaign strategy heading out of the convention. He started listing off competitive congressional districts until the elevator stopped at his floor.

Pushing past the junior staffers and volunteers, Josh finally made his way into the governor’s suite, but he was quickly pulled aside by Abbey Bartlet.

“Oh, Josh. I’m so glad you’re here.” Josh had to resist the urge to groan but instead plastered a politician’s smile on his face.

“Yes, ma’am, but I heard the governor was asking for me, so I’ll just—” Moving to leave, Abbey only tightened her grip on his arm, steering him away from the governor’s room and into a side room with coffee and pastries laid out.

“Oh, he can wait. I wanted you to meet my new campaign coordinator. She’s going to be running my side of things now that there’s more to do, but she’ll obviously have to coordinate with all of you when it comes to messaging and scheduling. I want you to be her pointman. Can you do that for me, Joshua?” Dr. Bartlet grinned at Josh as she stuck a muffin into his hand, and this time the smile on his face was genuine.

“I could never say no to you, Mrs. B.” Abbey patted his arm affectionately and motioned towards a blonde woman with her back to them.

“Josh, this is Donna Moss. She’s coming to us from Stackhouse’s campaign.”

Donna turned to the pair of them and was nothing short of the model of politeness as she stuck out her hand to Josh.

“Good to see you again, Mr. Lyman.” Josh could see the fire burning low in her bright blue eyes, and he couldn’t help the smirk that worked its way over his face.

“You as well, Ms. Moss.”

Well, this made things interesting.

x X x

“Jesus, man. You need to just take a deep breath and try to calm down.” Sam placed his hand on Josh’s forearm as they walked down the street, but Josh shook it off.

“I can’t, Sam. What if she has a really high pitched voice? What if she looks like Mary Marsh?” Josh stopped in his tracks, and Sam ran into his back. “What if she _is_ Mary Marsh?” Josh shook his head and continued walking, Sam grumbling behind him. “No, she couldn’t be, we’ve talked about politics too much, so unless Mary Marsh is secretly a raging liberal.”

“Josh!” Sam grabbed both of his arms at that point and spun him around. “Calm down!”

“I’m calm, I’m calm.” Josh was not calm.

The pair of them continued to walk in silence until they reached the outside of the cafe. Josh’s eyes flickered from Sam to the door to the window and back to Sam.

“Sam, this woman is the smartest, most adorable person I’ve ever come into contact with.” He smiled to himself as he shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. “If she’s even as good looking as a mailbox, I’d be crazy not to turn my life upside down and marry her.”

“I don’t know, Josh. She could be truly hideous.” There was a glint in Sam’s eye that Josh knew meant he was teasing, but his brain refused to comprehend that.

“You go look,” Josh said to Sam, eyes wide and full of terror. He could tell Sam was stifling his laughter, but he kept going. “Please, Sam. This was all your idea in the first place. I just— I need you to look. I need you to tell me it’s not someone old enough to be my mother.”

Sam did laugh at that, but just shook his head and bounded up the steps to the entrance of the cafe, peering through the windows. “A copy of the constitution you said?” Josh just nodded, clinging to the metal fence that ran along the sidewalk. “Well, there’s quite a few girls, but most of them are sitting with someone else. There is one girl towards the back, and she _does_ have a book. I just can’t quite tell.” There was a smirk on his face, and Josh knew instantly that Sam could damn well tell.

“Sam, I swear to God, if you keep messing with me like this, I’ll make you share a room with Toby for the rest of the campaign.” Sam just chuckled as he continued looking inside the cafe.

“Alright, alright. You can’t let me have even a little bit of fun at your expense?” Josh silently glared at his friend, which Sam took to be a no. “Fine. Okay the girl with the book, which does look like a very nice hardbound copy of the constitution: she’s pretty. Very pretty.”

“I knew it!” Josh whooped and hollered, but Sam just rolled his eyes. “She had to be!” Josh watched Sam’s face shift slightly, glancing over at Josh and biting his lip. “What? What is it?”

“She—” Sam grimaced. “Well, she kind of—”

“She _what_?!”

“She kind of looks a little bit like Donna Moss.”

Josh stared at Sam like he had gone crazy. “Donna Moss?” Sam just nodded. “Who cares about Donna Moss?”

“Well, if you don’t like Donna Moss, I can guarantee you won’t like this girl.” Sam moved to the side so Josh could come look over his shoulder. And sure enough, there she was— Donna Moss, with a cup of coffee and a cloth-bound copy of the constitution sitting in front of her. Josh’s stomach dropped to the floor. On the one hand, this was better than he could have ever anticipated. He’d been nursing a crush on this woman since he met her at the DNC fundraiser and she had schooled him so succinctly, _and_ he had developed a significant affection for the woman who had been sending him such loving and intelligent emails. To find out they were one and the same was beyond his wildest dreams. But on the other hand, Josh could not bring himself to go in and tell Donna that he was the person she’d been messaging for all these months.

She hated him.

That much was obvious from their previous interactions. But Josh had feelings for her: both as Donna and his penpal, and he couldn’t risk losing her as either.

“Okay,” he said quietly. “Okay, well, that’s that then.” Josh stuffed his hands in his pockets and brushed past Sam who just stared at him disbelievingly.

“Josh! You can’t just leave her there all by herself!”

“Well why not?!” Josh knew he sounded petulant, but his heart had worked its way up into his throat and he didn’t know how he could reconcile any part of this. “She hates me, Sam. I walk in there and tell her I’m the person she’s been emailing, and she’ll laugh in my face. I just can’t handle that. We just got the governor the nomination, and now we need to get him elected and I can’t just...” Josh trailed off and stared down at his shoes.

“Can’t just what, Josh?” Sam’s voice was so soft, but Josh hated him in that moment, wanting nothing more than to be alone right now before any tears fell down his cheeks. Josh didn’t say anything for fear of words finally letting lose everything he was feeling. He could hear Sam shuffling next to him but not saying anything. Sam was an annoyingly good friend sometimes.

“If you leave, who knows how long she’s gonna wait here all on her own.”

Damn him. Josh knew his friend was right, but that didn’t make him feel any better.

“I guess I can go talk to her then. You just— You can just go back to the hotel, and I’ll meet you back there later.” Sam smiled at Josh as he shouldered his way past him and threw open the cafe door before he could think better of it.

x X x

The bell above the door rang, and Donna sat up, her eyes darting to the entrance. A pit formed in her stomach when she saw Josh Lyman, and she subtly tried to angle her body away from the door so that he wouldn’t see her.

“Donna Moss?” Donna quickly opened her book and threw it up in front of her face, but it was useless. Josh came up to her table and plopped himself into the chair opposite her. “Well, what a coincidence!” Donna sighed and placed her book in front of her.

“Please, go away, I’m waiting for someone.”

Josh just grinned at her. “Yes, but they aren’t here yet.” The waiter approached them, and Donna tried to wave him off, but Josh had already caught his eye. “I’ll have a latte, thanks,” he said as he shrugged off his coat.

“I don’t want him to see you sitting here and leave!” she argued.

“Oh, ‘him’, huh?” Josh smirked. “You got a hot date tonight, Donnatella?” Donna sputtered, but no words came out. “Why would he leave if I was sitting here?”

“Because… well… because…” Donna fiddled with the napkin in front of her, tearing off little pieces and rolling them between her fingers.

“Let me guess,” Josh said, nodding to the waiter as he sat his drink in front of him, “you’ve got a date with this guy and so you agreed to a time and place and you have some way of recognizing each other.” Josh made it sound like a joke, and Donna cringed.

“You know what, yes, actually,” Josh raised an eyebrow, “and I am worried that if you are sitting there, in his chair I might add, he won’t think that I’m me, and he will leave. So could you please, for the love of God, go pester someone else? You’ll be getting your fill of annoying me soon enough.” Donna could hear the begging in her voice, but she was desperate enough that she didn’t care. “Please let me have this evening to myself.”

“I’ll leave when your friend gets here, don’t worry.” Josh took a sip of his drink and made an annoying show of smacking his lips. Donna resisted the urge to smack him upside the head. “Is he late, your friend?”

“Why are you here?” she begged of him. “Of all the cafes and coffee shops in this town, why this one?” Before Josh could respond, the bell on top of the front door rang, and Donna perked up as a man in a suit with a pin on his lapel walked in, but she quickly deflated when she saw Hoynes’s name on it. Her penpal would never be so spineless as to work for or support John Hoynes.

“I’m gonna take a wild guess that this isn’t him, either,” Josh observed in a falsely saccharine voice. “Who is this perfect man, I wonder.” Donna glared at him from across the table, but merely clutched her coffee tighter between her hands. “And will you be mean to him too? Will you start out sweet as sugar and then suddenly, miraculously, like a bolt from the blue, find that sharp little tongue of yours?”

“No, I will not,” Donna snipped back. “Because the man coming here is completely unlike you, Joshua Lyman. The man who is coming here is kind and funny— he has the most wonderful sense of humor—”

“But he isn’t here.” Josh grinned at her, but Donna’s blood was boiling.

“If he’s not here, he has a reason, because there is not a cruel or careless bone in his body. He _cares_ about people, and he cares about _me_.” Donna huffed and took a small sip of her coffee. “I can’t expect you to know anything about a person like that.” She leveled her gaze at him and forced as much venom into her voice as she possessed in all her being. “You’re nothing but a suit.”

Josh’s face fell, but Donna could not find it in her to care. His eyes that usually held a glint of mirth in them as he teased her relentlessly were now soft but devoid of any warmth. Quickly avoiding his stare, Donna glanced down at her coffee, swirling it around the bottom of her cup and trying to ignore the fact that it was the exact color of the eyes she was so studiously ignoring. Donna silently listened as Josh fished in his pocket and brought out his wallet.

Eyes drifting to his hands as he sat down the money for his drink, Donna felt her stomach twisting in knots. She wasn’t like this. She wasn’t needlessly mean. That small, needling voice in the back of her mind argued that it wasn’t needless and that Josh Lyman was a grade A jerk, but that did nothing to lessen her discomfort. Josh cleared his throat then, and she chanced a glance at his face. She didn’t like the discomfort she saw so plainly there and quickly looked back to her drink.

“Well,” Josh said, stuffing his hands in his pockets, “goodnight, Donnatella Moss.”

Her voice sounded small even to her ears, and she hoped no one noticed the tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “Goodnight.” She heard him move away, and when the bell atop the cafe door jingled, Donna watched Josh hurry across the street and out of sight. Donna’s head dropped into her hands, feeling worse and worse by the second. As she downed the last of her now cold coffee and ordered a second, Donna had to wonder just why her penpal was so very late.

**27 September 1998 - Des Moines, IA**

Josh stood at the door of the Des Moines headquarters, tapping his foot and fiddling with his watch. He had put on a coat because September in Iowa was a fickle mistress, and even though it had been nearly 80 degrees when Josh had arrived earlier that week, it was now a chilly 43. However, Josh was now regretting his choice of outerwear as sweat rolled down his back. His eyes pulled to the clock above the door. Twenty-three minutes. Josh had been waiting for Donna for twenty-three minutes.

His patience wearing thin, Josh snapped at Toby as the speechwriter hurried by.

“Have you seen Donna? She was supposed to be leaving with me for the venue twenty minutes ago.”

Toby looked at Josh with a slightly dazed look that Josh recognized as Toby’s writer mode. It took him another unbearably long moment before he answered.

“Haven’t you talked to Leo this morning?” Josh shook his head. “Donna’s out today. Some stomach bug I guess.”

“Donna’s sick?” Josh instantly felt bad for getting impatient at her absence. “Is she okay?” Toby gave Josh another funny look, but this one was definitely not writer mode related.

“How would I know?” Toby instantly walked off, and Josh sighed heavily. In actuality, he and Donna didn’t really need to visit the event site. More than anything, Josh had suggested it as a way for them to spend a little more time together. Ever since that night in the cafe, his stomach twisted in knots every time he saw Donna, and the only way he could find to remedy it was going out of his way to spend time with Donna and doing his best to be civil.

As he leaned his head against the window in an attempt to cool himself down, his eye caught sight of a sign for a Panera Bread at the end of the block. Josh smiled as a plan formed in his head to gain back some of Donna’s good graces. Pulling his coat tighter around him in a useless attempt to fend off the Midwestern wind, Josh walked out onto the street and towards the cafe.

x X x

Donna groaned as she heard a knock on her door. She had spent most of the night puking her guts out, and she wanted nothing more than to catch up on her lost sleep. All things considered, Donna’s perfect day was shaping up to be laying in bed, sleeping on and off, and watching shitty daytime TV in between naps. As she glanced out the peephole, she had to keep herself from groaning.

Of all the things she had wanted to do today, seeing Josh Lyman standing outside her hotel door hadn’t even made the list.

Donna had only a moment to realize how awful she looked, so she quickly threw on a thin sweater and pulled her hair into some semblance of a bun at the top of her head. Taking a moment to rally herself, Donna counted to ten before pulling her door open.

“What?” She didn’t intend to sound so rude, but she was going to blame her utter lack of sleep. Josh deflated a little bit, but there was still an almost uncomfortably earnest look about him as he held out a large container and a paper bag.

“Toby mentioned you were sick.”

“And?” Donna’s head was pounding from the fluorescent hallway lights, so she silently ushered Josh into her room before shutting the door behind him.

“And I noticed this place down the street and figured you might like some soup.” Josh shuffled his feet and refused to meet Donna’s eyes. “When I was sick, my mom always joked that chicken noodle soup was better than any cold medicine, so I guess I just thought…”

Donna’s chest warmed at the idea that Josh was thinking about and wanting to do something nice for her. “That was—” Donna coughed into the crook of her arm. “Sorry.” She grabbed the glass of water by her bed and took a sip. “That was, um… sweet of you, Josh.” Josh sat the container and bag on her table. “Thank you.” She reached out to touch his arm, but stopped and instead busied herself by clearing off the rest of the table. As she was moving to set aside her books, Josh snatched one out of her hand.

“ _Emma_ ?” he read off the title. “Are you a big Jane Austen fan?” Donna, unbidden, thought of her penpal and the hours the pair of them had spent discussing their favorite of Austen’s works; why _Pride and Prejudice_ is so eternal, why _Emma_ is so frequently ridiculed because people see themselves too much in the heroine, why _Persuasion_ is so often overlooked. To say she was a Jane Austen fan seemed like an understatement, but Donna was not about to prompt that conversation with Josh Lyman of all people. He struck her as the type to classify Austen as “silly and romantic”.

“Yes,” Donna said simply.

“Is _Emma_ your favorite?” Josh asked.

“I don’t think I could pick a favorite. They are all so distinct, you can’t compare one to the other.”

Josh hmm’d to himself. “I suppose,” he said. “ _Pride and Prejudice_ will always be my favorite though.” Donna felt her jaw drop. She would never have imagined Josh had read any of Jane Austen’s books, let alone gotten enough out of them to pick a favorite. Josh clearly noticed the look on her face and smirked. “Does that surprise you?”

“Mostly just surprised that you’ve read Jane Austen,” Donna scoffed.

Josh’s smirk shifted into a genuine smile. “There’s a lot about me that you don’t know, Donnatella.” He turned her copy of _Emma_ over in his hands. “The summer before I went to college, I read every one of her books. I think she’s brilliant.”

“What exactly is it that you like about her?” Donna was wondering if she could catch him out in a lie, but his smile told her she wasn’t going to win this one.

“I like how different each of her heroines are,” he said, “how you can see something different of yourself in almost each character, even the ones you’re meant to dislike. I think _Emma_ in particular is special because so many people hate her so vehemently.” He pulled out a chair and stood there waiting for a moment before Donna realized he expected her to sit down. She did so, and as Josh pushed her chair back in, she tried not to think about how this could be a date.

“We all like having little boxes we can put people in,” he said as he sat across from her. “This person does good things, so they’re good,” he gestured with his spoon as he handed silverware to her, “but this person does bad or cruel things, so they can’t be good. An argument can be made that Emma is just a female version of Mr. Darcy: rich, a little naive, too judgemental of those beneath them.” Donna ripped off a piece of the bread and dipped it in her soup. She wouldn’t admit it to Josh, but some good food was probably exactly what she needed today. “But then they both realize their mistakes, fix themselves and mend relationships, and are able to grow. Yet people applaud Darcy and continue to mock Emma because she’s a silly girl.”

Donna was in shock. She had made this argument many times to the point that she was sure her friends were sick of it. “And yet _Pride and Prejudice_ is your favorite?” she queried, finally dipping her spoon into the soup. The minute the broth slid down her throat, she felt her entire body warm from the inside.

“Well, yeah.” Josh grinned at her over the food. “How can you not like a good enemies to lovers where both characters recognize their flaws and love each other in spite of them? Maybe we could learn a thing or two from Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, hmm?” Donna choked on her bread but tried to cover it up. Josh frowned slightly. “Or maybe not. Friendship is probably off the table at this point, what with you hating my guts.”

“I do not hate your guts,” Donna protested.

“Of course you do. Why shouldn’t you? I tanked your campaign!” Donna merely pushed the carrots and celery around in the broth, not responding. “Can I ask you something?” She looked up to meet his eyes, and was taken aback by the earnestness she saw there. “That guy, the one you were supposed to meet at the cafe that night: what happened?”

Now it was Donna’s turn to frown. “Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“He never showed.”

“But you love him?”

Donna gaped at Josh, his question taking her off guard. She had never put it in so many words, but she supposed he was correct.

“I— Yes, I guess I do. Yes.”

“Then why aren’t you making your move?”

“I don’t actually know him,” Donna confessed, hiding her face over her bowl of soup. “We— we email, but I’ve never seen him before.”

“Maybe you should try again. I mean if you really love him like you say you do—”

“I do!” she cut him off, looking up at him again. “I— I’ve never met him, but I know him. I know his heart, his mind. And that’s really all that matters, isn’t it?”

Josh looked at her, a mix of emotions playing across his face that Donna couldn’t have discerned even if she wanted to. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Inexplicably, the pair of them spent the next hour finishing their food and talking about books and politics, and Donna found herself actually enjoying Josh’s company. At one point, Josh made some stupid joke that made her laugh so hard she started coughing again, and she had never seen Josh so serious as when he jumped up and knelt next to her with a bottle of water. Eventually, Josh’s pager beeped, and it was Leo saying they needed to head out for the governor’s speech. Donna almost wished Josh could stay and they could spend the evening chatting, but they were both going to get even busier in this last leg of the campaign.

As she walked Josh to the door, he smiled at her, pulling on his coat.

“Ask him to meet again.” Donna furrowed her eyebrows. “Your friend,” he explained. “You deserve to be happy, Donnatella.”

Donna was too stunned to say anything in response, and Josh bounded off down the hallway to meet Leo and Toby downstairs. Instead she wandered back into her room and pulled out her laptop, trying to piece together what she could say to her penpal. She was still hurt by the fact that he never showed, and she wasn’t entirely sure what would come of this attempt if anything. But Josh was right, God help her: she did deserve to be happy.

She finally decided simple was best and sent her penpal a short message that just read:

_Let’s try again._

**3 November 1998 - Manchester, NH - Election Night  
**

“Has anybody seen Josh recently?!” Sam yelled across the conference room.

“Last I saw he was going over numbers with Joey,” Donna shouted back. Sam looked up at her, his eyes unfocused. None of them had slept much the night before or really the entirety of the campaign.

“Can you go find him for me?” Sam asked, at a more reasonable level. “Toby and I have been looking at some numbers out of the 5th district in Iowa. We need his thoughts.”

“Sure,” Donna said, pushing back her chair and moving towards the hallway. Truthfully, she was grateful for the chance to get up and move around. Even though it couldn’t have been more than an hour, she felt like she had been sitting in that room all day.

Headquarters had moved to a hotel for the last stretch, and the ballroom was ready downstairs for whatever speech the governor had to give at the end of the night. The entire floor was taken up by the campaign, and people were bustling about in various states of dress and coherency. Donna made her way towards the senior staff’s room, and smirked as she heard Joey, through Kenny, yelling, more than likely at Josh.

As she went to push open the door, it swung open, and Donna stumbled into the room a bit. Joey looked at her for only a moment before stalking out of the room, Kenny following close behind. Donna had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at the gob-smacked look on Josh’s face. Before she could open her mouth to say Toby was looking for him, Amy popped into the room, a wry grin on her face.

“Oh, Joshua?” Josh pulled his gaze up to the woman standing in the doorway, and for a second, Donna’s heart clenched for Josh. He looked exhausted, and even though they all were experiencing it, Josh wore it a little worse than everyone else. His eyes briefly glanced over to Donna, apparently just noticing her presence, before looking back at Amy.

“Yes, Amelia?”

“Can I speak to you for a moment?” Her eyes flicked quickly towards Donna and then back to Josh. “In the hallway?” Josh sighed heavily before standing and walking past Amy and into the hall, looking very much like a kicked puppy.

Amy gave Donna one last indiscernible look before following Josh and closing the door perhaps a little too forcefully. Ever since Amy had joined them on the trail for the final leg of the campaign, she had been cold towards Donna. Josh had mentioned it once, completely bewildered as to why that could be, and Donna had just laughed and said she wasn’t sure either. She didn’t have to heart to tell Josh it was because anyone could see the two of them had become closer, Amy included, and that the other woman was jealous. About what, Donna couldn’t fathom, but it was clearly festering in Amy nonetheless.

But Donna was rather set on letting Josh sus that one out on his own.

A few moments went by, and Donna began picking at her nails before she heard Amy’s raised voice coming through the door. Sneaking across the room and feeling slightly guilty, Donna cracked open the door to hear better. She knew that this was a private conversation that she should absolutely not be listening to, but she couldn’t stop herself. Amy and Josh had moved down the hall, but Amy’s words were clear as day.

“So, that’s a ‘no’ then?”

Donna had never heard Josh sound so tired.

“Yeah, Amy. That’s a ‘no’.” Amy huffed, and Donna so desperately wanted to lean around the doorframe so she could see the two of them, but she stayed where she was to avoid Amy’s wrath.

“Is there— Is there someone else?”

Josh didn’t say anything for so long, Donna thought the pair may have moved elsewhere and almost moved into the hallway to run back to the conference room. But then a soft voice drifted back to her.

“I don’t know.”

“Are you a little boy? What do you mean you don’t know?” Donna wanted to hit Amy for the anger in her voice, but on the other hand she understood where it was coming from. This didn’t make her want to hit her any less though.

“Amy I—” In her mind’s eye, Donna could see Josh rubbing his hand on the back of his neck or running his fingers through his already messy curls or clenching his fists at his sides, the frustration and desperation was so clear in his voice. “There’s the idea of someone else. But at this point, I think I’ve messed it up enough that she’d never have me.” The last bit was so quiet, Donna thought she may have imagined it or heard him wrong.

Donna fell back into the doorway as she heard movement in the hall, trying to ignore the way her heart was pounding and her stomach was clenching. There were any number of women working on this campaign, and even more outside it. Josh could be talking about literally any other woman. She had no reason to believe it was her.

And yet she couldn’t stop herself from imagining that it was her he was talking about. _Had_ he messed it up so much? _Would_ she have him? She was spared having to answer these questions for herself by Josh walking about into the room. Donna quickly plastered a smirk on her face.

“So many women,” she observed. “So little charm.”

The look Josh gave her was so tired, Donna felt bad for teasing him, but she didn’t know how else to handle these feelings.

“What,” he rasped out, “in God’s name could you possibly want right now?”

“Toby was looking for you. Apparently there’s some interesting polling coming out of Iowa’s 5th district and he wants you to help him look it over.”

Josh sighed heavily and ran his hand over his face. His hand fell to his side, but his eyes remained closed. Donna’s heart ached to the point where she took a step forward and gently laid her hand on his forearm. Josh’s eyes fluttered open, and when he looked at her, his face was so open and vulnerable she couldn’t find it in herself to make fun of him.

“Do you need a second?”

Josh swallowed heavily and looked as if he were about to dismiss her. “I just—” he began, but then he seemed to deflate a little. “I just need sixty seconds where no one is shouting my name or demanding I do something or asking something of me,” he confessed softly. “I just need a minute of quiet.”

Donna surprised herself by pulling Josh into her arms in that moment without hesitation. Even more surprising though was the way Josh’s arms immediately went around her. One of his hands rested on her low back, while the other threaded itself through the hair at the nape of her neck. Donna could feel Josh sigh as his head fell to her shoulder, and despite how difficult he was and all of his snide remarks, Donna couldn’t help but pull him as close to her as she could. C.J. had told her recently about Josh’s father, and ever since then, Donna just couldn’t find it in herself to hate him.

Sure, she still found herself annoyed with him almost constantly, and she teased just about everything he said, but her heart just wasn’t in it anymore. Instead, when she saw him spaced out during their briefings or while someone was berating him, her heart ached. This moment was no different.

Donna matched Josh’s position, threading one hand into the soft curls just at the nape of his neck. She spoke softly, her fingers tracing circles on his back.

“I don’t need anything from you right now, Josh. Just for you to breathe.”

Josh sighed again, and feeling it stir the hairs on the back of her neck, Donna had to resist the urge to shiver.

“Can you just talk to me?”

Donna chose to ignore the crack in Josh’s voice and simply nodded. “Sure.” She swallowed, trying to clear the lump in her throat. “You know, when I’m stressed, I recite my favorite poems. Outloud, but just enough to give me something to focus on and control my breathing.”

“What’s your favorite poem?” Josh spoke into her shoulder.

“Wild Geese by Mary Oliver.”

“Can I hear it?”

Donna smiled and pulled Josh even tighter to her and began reciting it. “You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.”

With Josh’s body flush against hers, she could swear she felt some of the tension leaving his body. As she reached the final lines of the poem, she stuttered over her words as Josh started mimicking her movements and tracing small circles on her lower back. Neither of them spoke for a long moment after that. Donna was sure they had been standing there for longer than sixty seconds, and if she didn’t know how badly Josh needed this, she would have said they needed to go back and find Toby and Sam. But Toby and Sam could function without Josh for just a few more minutes.

“Thank you, Donna.”

Both of them seemed hesitant to move because of the calm that had washed over them, but finally Josh pulled his arms away. Donna tried not to miss the warmth of his hand settled on her low back.

“Of course.”

The pair of them gathered the things Josh needed to take back to the team and walked back towards the bullpen, and the minute they left that room, it was like Josh had flipped a switch He was bouncing on the balls of his feet and barking orders at the junior staffers.

“So, a little birdy told me you might have a date soon?”

Donna glared at Josh, but he just flashed a smirk her way.

“Who spilled? Was is C.J.?”

“Uh, uh. I would never reveal my sources and put them at risk of your retribution.”

“So it was Sam then.”

Josh just laughed and rounded the corner. The pair of them stepped into the bullpen and were immediately met with an onslaught of noises and numbers and exit polls. Josh was handling some of the junior staffers as Donna sorted through a list of exit polls someone had shoved in her hands, and just when she was about to walk away to find the first lady, Josh spoke up again.

“I’m glad. That you’re reaching out to him again. I think you two could be happy together.”

Donna chuckled wryly at that. “You don’t even know anything about him.”

“That’s true,” Josh said, bouncing with that relentless energy of his again. “He could be horrible for all we know. He could be married.” 

Donna gaped at him. “That's a terrible thing to say. It's not possible.”

“Have you asked him if he's married? Have you said, ‘Are you married?’”

“Well, no but—”

“Maybe he's fat.” Donna scoffed at that.

“I don't care about that.

“You don't care that he might be one of those guys who's so fat he has to be removed from his house with a crane?”

“I think that’s highly unlikely.”

Josh grinned at her, and where she normally would’ve wanted to whack him for annoying her, another urge was growing inside her as her eyes flicked to his smile. “Why else do you think he's putting off meeting you? Although…” he started, “maybe that's not it. Maybe…”

“What?” Donna demanded.

“Never mind.” Josh wandered off across the bullpen, but Donna followed close behind.

“Maybe what?!”

“Well,” Josh sighed dramatically and leaned against the side of someone’s desk as he flipped through a packet of polling numbers. “He could be waiting til he’s paroled.”

Donna groaned and whacked the top of Josh’s head with the folder she was carrying. He protested, but it was lessened by how he immediately began laughing at her. “You’re ridiculous, Joshua Lyman.”

“And you love me for it,” he teased.

Fortunately, he didn’t know how close to the truth he was.

**20 January 1999 - Washington, D.C. - Inauguration Day  
**

“Donna!”

The woman in question winced slightly at the volume of Josh’s yelling, but when she turned to him, a smile was already playing across her lips. Josh was certain he had never seen a woman so beautiful, and she looked so smart and professional in her royal blue pantsuit.

“Whatcha doing right now?” Donna bit her bottom lip to keep herself from grinning, and it was all Josh could do not to take his thumb and tug her lip out from her teeth.

“Right now?” Donna smiled coyly at him, and Josh nodded, curls bouncing. “Nothing, why do you ask?”

“Come get coffee with me.”

Donna shrugged and followed after Josh as they made their way to the coffee shop in the lobby of their hotel. The pair got their drinks, chatting about the plan for tonight, who had to be where and when. Toby and Sam had locked themselves in Toby’s room for final touches to the speech, and everyone else was expressly forbidden from bothering them, save the building catching on fire. Josh peered at Donna over his to-go cup, wondering just how he could bring up their meeting tonight.

“What?” she demanded.

“Nothing,” he mumbled.

Donna chuckled. “It’s never nothing with you, Joshua. What is it?”

Josh shrugged, feigning indifference. “I heard you have a little meeting tonight in the west wing.” _Well, there goes subtlety._ Donna swatted at his arm. “Hey!”

“And how exactly is that any of your business?”

“Well, as the soon-to-be deputy chief of staff, it’s my job to know about all meetings inside the west wing,” Josh teased, bumping her with his elbow as they made their way back into the lobby. “So, he’s a staffer or a donor, huh?”

“Or just someone heavily involved in democratic politics,” Donna said, sipping her coffee. “Which we knew already.”

“Well then, I could know who it is! I could have met him, and we never would have known.” Donna glanced at Josh, but said nothing. “It could be Larry, you know.”

“Larry’s married,” Donna countered.

Josh was undeterred. “It could be Ed, then!”

Donna rolled her eyes. “Stop teasing!”

“It’s all about the timing I guess.” Josh hummed to himself as the pair of them walked onto the elevator. Josh leaned in front of Donna to push the button to the eleventh floor, and the scent of her perfume engulfed him in not an unpleasant way. Josh quickly moved back to hsi side and shook his head to clear it. “He waited until you were primed. Until you knew there was no other man you could ever love.”

“Yes,” Donna said, and he almost believed her.

“Donna, could I ask you something?” She refused to meet his eyes, shuffling her feet underneath her.

“I suppose,” she said.

Josh glanced around the hallway at the people milling about and motioned for her to follow him into a side room.

“Do you,” he started, but choked on his words. “Do you ever think about that night we met?”

Donna met his eyes then, and his heart fluttered in his chest. “Yes, of course. I was appalling and you were obnoxious, and our lovely friendship was born.” Donna laughed nervously.

“Truth is, I thought you were enchanting that night. In fact, I thought, ‘She’s beautiful, she’s smart, she’s a democrat, and she’s mean to me. That’s a girl I could almost fall in love with.’”

Donna stared at him, and try as he might, Josh couldn’t figure out what she was thinking. “Josh…” Donna searched for her words, “you— you were insufferable.”

“I know.”

“And you never said anything.”

“I know. But,” Josh reached out and held Donna’s free hand in his, “I always wonder, if you hadn’t been working with Stackhouse, and I hadn’t been working for the president-elect...” Donna rolled her eyes at that. “I would’ve asked for your number. And I wouldn't have been able to wait twenty-four hours before calling and asking, ‘How about coffee, drinks, dinner, a movie…’” Josh forced himself to continue despite Donna’s shocked face, “‘for as long as we both shall live?’"

“Josh.”

“And we never would have been at war. And the only fight we would’ve had would— would be what toppings to get on our pizza on Friday night.”

“Ham and pineapple,” Donna said softly.

“Pineapple does not belong on pizza,” he said, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. They stood like that for a long while, Josh still imploringly clutching her hand. “How is it that you can forgive this schmuck for standing you up, but you can’t forgive me for a silly little thing like sabotaging the campaign you worked on.”

Donna stared off behind him for a long while, and while she did, Josh watched all kinds of emotions cross her face but couldn’t discern any of them. He searched her eyes for any sign of the way she might feel about it, but she merely shifted under the weight of his gaze.

“I really have to get going… The first lady—”

“I wish you would, Donnatella.” For a moment Donna looked at him, and a shiver went up his spine and his stomach flipped as Josh thought she might kiss him. Instead, she merely took a deep breath and pulled her hand from his.

“I have to go get ready.”

“Of course. You have to look good tonight for Mr. Emails.” A faint blush spread across Donna’s cheeks, and Josh wanted nothing more than to run his thumb across her heated skin. Turning on his heel, Josh began to walk away, intent on finding Sam and lamenting to him.

“Josh.” He turned, despite his better judgement, and watched as Donna worried her bottom lip with her teeth. She cleared her throat before quietly admitting, “I wish you had said something sooner.” Before Josh could respond, Donna was off, quickly walking in the direction of the east wing.

**21 January 1999 - Washington D.C.**

Donna wandered through the west wing and marveled at how odd it was to see it so empty. It was the last ball of the night (based on the clocks on the wall, it was probably more accurate to say morning), and everyone was clearing out the last of the alcohol. Donna herself was pleasantly buzzed from the glasses of champagne people kept handing her, and her slightly fuzzy head made it easier to not focus on how very nervous she was to meet this mystery man.

She had easily been in love with him since his second or third email to her. It would have been harder to _not_ fall in love with him considering how easy he was to talk to and how quickly he understood her. No matter what he looked like or his age, he understood her mind and at the end of the day that was what was truly important.

Josh’s teasing about the mystery man’s looks tugged at her mind, but Donna quickly shoved those thoughts down. She couldn’t think about Josh, regardless of how much she wanted to play “ _That’s a girl I could almost fall in love with_ ,” on an endless loop in her head. Her mystery man had been around first, and she owed it to him to at least give him a chance.

Donna walked past the Roosevelt Room, and her breath caught in her throat. She still found it difficult to wrap her head around the fact that she got to work here. It didn’t quite feel real yet. Whatever else happened tonight, she had one of the best jobs in the world, and a relationship (or not, as it were) wasn’t going to change that.

Despite her bravado, Donna’s heart stopped in her chest when she reached the outer office to the oval and she saw the shape of a person through the curtains on the door to the portico. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she realized she was a few minutes late to their meeting, so she braced herself and wasted no more time before placing her hand on the door knob and pushing the door open.

The man was facing away from her, staring up at the stars, but Donna didn’t need to see his face to know just who she was looking at. She would recognize those curls anywhere. Donna glanced around to make sure there was no one else on the portico, and when she saw no one else, she softly closed the door behind her and leaned against it for a moment before softly clearing her throat.

Josh turned around, and when he saw Donna, he shoved his hands in his pockets and looked up at her shyly through his infuriatingly long eyelashes. At least he had the good sense to look slightly embarrassed. If he had flashed her one of his signature Josh smirks, blows would’ve been thrown. Donna wordlessly crossed over to him and stopped when she was standing less than a foot in front of him. Josh was now looking solidly at his feet, refusing to meet her eyes. Barely able to contain her smile, Donna reached out and gently placed her hand under his chin, lifting his eyes to hers.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke but instead searched each other's eyes, trying to communicate everything that they couldn’t say yet. Donna finally broke the silence, her smile growing even more.

“I wanted it to be you.” Never in her year of knowing him had Donna ever seen Josh smile so widely. She felt the overwhelming urge to kiss both of his dimples, and deciding there wasn’t really any reason she couldn’t, she did just that.

“So you think you can forgive me?” His eyes were so hopeful, but she couldn’t let him get away that easily.

“Probably. But bet your ass I’m going to yell at you about it quite a few times before you’re completely forgiven.” Josh reached out, cupping her face and running his thumb across her cheekbone.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” Josh cautiously slid both of his hands into Donna’s hair and moved infinitesimally closer, but Donna had no time for caution. She reached out for Josh’s forearms and pulled him into her, crashing their lips together. Drawing his fingers out of her hair as carefully as possible so as not to pull her hair, Josh slid his hands down her sides until they settled at her waist. Despite her aggression, Josh’s lips were impossibly soft as they moved against hers as though he knew his actions had hurt her in the past, and he was intent on avoiding a repeat performance at all costs.

Somewhere, on the opposite side of the building, someone opened the portico doors to the ballroom, and the band’s music drifted out toward them. Donna finally pulled away from Josh just enough to catch her breath. When he spoke, she could still feel his lips moving against hers.

“Will you dance with me, Donnatella.” Donna smiled as she took his proffered hand and he settled them into ballroom form.

“You know, I don’t usually let people call me Donnatella. The only people who use my full name are my parents, and even then it’s only when I haven’t responded the first few times they’ve called my name. But…” her voice trailed off as Josh pulled her flush against him, and she rested her head in the crook of his neck. “The way you say it, it just— I feel like it’s safe on your lips.” Josh pulled away from her just enough to tip her face up to his and to connect their lips in the softest and briefest kiss.

“I’m gonna do what I can to keep every bit of you safe for as long as you’ll let me.”

Donna snorted at that and buried her face in his shoulder, going back to their swaying.

“So is this how you’re going to be now? Unendurably cheesy?” Donna could feel Josh’s laugh deep in his chest. Goosebumps broke out across her shoulders and arms when he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

“Bet your ass.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all liked this! I've been working on this on and off since mid September and using it as a way to avoid election stress, but the holidays were the perfect opportunity to sit down and finish it!


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